Cranberry-gatherer.



Nrrnn STATES ATENT innen.

DANIEL LUMBERT, OE 'CENTREVILLE MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM S. LUMBERT ANDYIIARRIE FsLUMBERT, OF SAME PLACE.

CRANBERRY-GATHERER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 654,013, dated luly 17, 1900.

Application filed .April 6, 1900. Serial No. 11,839. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL LUMBERT, of Centreville, in the county of Barnstable and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cranberry- Gatherers, of which the following is a description sufficiently full, clear, and exact to eny rside pieces a and a rear end piece b, preferable those skilled in the art to which it appertains or with which itis most nearly connected to make and use the same.

The object of the present invention is to produce an improved form of cranberry-gathering machine having advantages in economy of construction, facility of manipulation, and efficiency in operation, these points being gained by reducing the number of necessaryT parts, rendering the stripping actionwholly automatic, and at the salne time making such action positive and unvarying.

In carrying out my invention I provide a machine which in operation requires merely to be thrust forward and drawn backward in the vines until charged with berries, which are automatically stripped from the vines in the backward movement of the machine, and then when the full complement of berries has been gathered in the machine it can be readily emptied and the gathering resumed.

By my improvement I am enabled to gather cranberries more effectively than is now prac-` ticed with machines requiring manipulation of the stripper by thumb action, and I en-- tirely dispense with the latter, while greatly simplifying the construction. Moreover, my improved arrangement for effecting automaticstripping renders entirely practical the employment of a machine of very much enlarged capacity mounted on wheels and equipped to be run, much after the manner of a lawn-mower, by one or 'more operators standing upright. q

The drawings which accompany and form part of this specication illustrate preferred forms of embodiment of the invention, which are specilically described hereinafter.

Figure l represents in top plan View a wheeled cranberry-gatherer embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents the same in side elevation, partly broken away and in section, illustrating the action. Fig. 3 represents in central longitudinal section a hand-size form of machine embodying the invention.

Except for the manipulating means the construction of the two forms shown'is practically the same and one description :will apply to each.

The framework of the machine comprises ably of wood, and the pickers are in the form of a series of rods c, secured at their rear ends in the lower part of the rear frame-piece b and extending forward to a line in rear of the foremost portions of the side pieces a, which preferably have their under edges rounded from this line where the rods terminate to their top edges, so as to constitute in effect shoes to work over the vines. The rods of the series all lie in the same plane and preferably run a little below the plane of the bottom edges of the side pieces a, the rear end piece b projecting-below the latter su'iiciently to afford substantial support for the rods. A flat plate e is pivoted, by means'of a pintle e', to the sides a, at the forward upper parts thereof, said plate extending from side to side of the frame and rearward and downward, so as to bring its straight lower edge to a line a short distance in front of and slightly above the line of the front ends of the picker-rods. This defines the normal position of the plate, in which it is held by coiled springs e2, surrounding the pintle e' and secured to the side pieces a at one end, while their other ends bear against the inner side of the plate to hold the same against stop-pinsf, which project from the side pieces a.

In operation when the machine is thrust forward the plate e encounters the vines and is swung backward by them, so that as the rods work into the vines and below the berries the latter may be received in the machine above the rods, which are arranged close enough together to prevent passage of berries through between them. Then upon the machine being drawn back the plate e instantly returns to its normal position, closingthe throat through which the berries were admitted, so that only the vines escape between the lower edge of the plate and the ends of the rods, the berries being stripped off and rooVA kept in the machine. It willbe seenthat this stripping operation takes place automatically, no manipulation of the stripperplat-e being required, but its action resulting from the mere thrusting forward and drawing backward of the machine. When the 'machine has become well charged with bersons standing upright, much as in running a lawn-mower, and this machine is mounted at the rear upon wheels g, one at each side and of a size and so journaled as to elevate the rear part of the machine from the ground, whereby the desired pitch is given to the picker-rods and stripper-plate. A pushrod h is pivoted at 4its forward end to a bracket on a cross-bar a', extending between the side pieces a at about the middle of the machine, and this rod extends rearwardly and upwardly and is equipped with suitable handles h. `A bracket h2 supports the rod from the rear part of the machine, said "bracket being secured to the rear piece b by thumb-screws h", which can be inserted in different holes to secure different adjustments of the handle-bar.4 The bracket has a more or less loose connection with the bar to facilitate change in vertical adjustment of the latter. l

rIhe form shown in Fig. 3 is adapted for a small-size machine to be carried in and operated with one hand, and for this purpose has a handle i extending longitudinally over the top, said handle being supported by a stout wire fi', running through it and secured at both ends to the rear frame-piece b.

In each form of machine shown a flexible sheet j is employed, extending from side to side and from the rear frame-piece b to a cross-bar j', and a wire-netting j" extends over the remainder of the top of the machine. This covering prevents escape of the berries while the machine is being worked.

It will now be seen that the forms of machines here shown are well adapted to fulfil the objects primarily set forth. However, it

4rods extending forward from the lower portion of the latter and terminating on aline in rear of the V`foremost portions of the side pieces, and a stripper-plate pivoted to the said foremost portionsof the side pieces at the upper parts thereof and extending rearwardly to'- ward the front ends of the picker-rods, said plate being spring-pressed against stops so that normally its acting edge stands just forward of the ends of the picker-rods ready to be pressed backward by the vines while the picker-rods pass through the same under the berries, substantially as described.

2. A machine of the character described comprising in its construction a frame with side pieces and an end piece, a series of picker= rods extending forward from the lowerportion of the latter and terminating oula line in` rear of the foremost portions of the side pieces, and a stripper-plate pivoted to the said foremost portions of the side pieces at the upper parts thereof and extending rearwardly toward the front ends of vthe picker-rods, said plate being spring-pressed against stops so that normally its acting edge stands just for-` ward of the ends of the picker-rods ready to be pressed backward by the vines while the picker-rods pass through the same under the` berries, together with wheels at `the rear of the frame elevating the same from the ground, and a handle by which to propel the machine, substantiallyas described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 3d day of April, A. D. 1900. p

DANIEL LUMBERT.

Witnesses:

CHARLES F. PARKER, GERTRUDE L. TORREY. 

